The season is over. The playoffs are set. Before I get deep into the playoffs though, I want to do my final regular season rankings. Playoff predictions and regular season football are different things. These rankings will reflect the long season that began four months ago. The playoffs are about being able to string together three or four wins.

So anyway, here’s the last rankings. The rest to follow.

12/30 rankings. 12/24 rankings. 12/16 rankings. 12/9 rankings. 12/3 rankings. 11/26 rankings. 11/18 rankings. 11/11 rankings. 11/4 rankings. 10/28 rankings. 10/21 rankings. 10/15 rankings. 10/8 rankings. 9/30 rankings. 9/24 rankings. 9/16 rankings. 9/9 rankings.

1. Seattle Seahawks
2. Denver Broncos
3. New England Patriots
4. Jacksonville Jaguars
5. Houston Texans
6. Chicago Bears
7. Philadelphia Eagles
8. Los Angeles Rams
9. Buffalo Bills
10. San Francisco 49’ers
11. Los Angeles Chargers
12. Green Bay Packers
13. Pittsburgh Steelers
14. Carolina Panthers
15. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
16. Minnesota Vikings
17. Atlanta Falcons
18. Baltimore Ravens
19. Detroit Lions
20. Dallas Cowboys
21. Miami Dolphins
22. Indianapolis Colts
23. New Orleans Saints
24. Cincinnati Bengals
25. Kansas City Chiefs
26. Cleveland Browns
27. Washington Commanders
28. Tennessee Titans
29. New York Jets
30. Arizona Cardinals
31. New York Giants
32. Las Vegas Raiders

There are so many dumpster fires in this group, but one could fairly say the top 23 teams all at least had a good point in the season. For teams #15-32, it’s the offseason. Coaching changes, the draft, and free agency await. I won’t be changing the order there anymore at this point. Obviously the most disappointing season goes to the Chiefs, which isn’t really necessarily anyone’s fault, time just caught up to them. The most hopeful of the non-playoff teams, to me, should be New Orleans.

So, about the playoffs- totally different season. If the regular season is about consistency and repeating good habits, the playoffs are about top end talent, typically. Now, there is a lot of crossover- the last three NFC champs were top two seeds- but it’s not a lock. This year you have Wild Cards like the Rams and 49’ers who have made recent runs to the Super Bowl, and teams like Buffalo with plenty of experience at this time of year. So what’s my take about this week’s games?

• Rams (-10.5) @ Panthers- The Rams should win this and cover, however I did watch this regular season game, and Bryce Young and the Panthers offense looked really good. Also, the Panthers have been winning every other week for like two months, and are coming off of a loss. So I’m tempted to bet on the Panthers to at least cover, and I think I like the over in this game. However, in the real world, I’d be shocked if the Rams don’t win this.
• Packers (-1.5) @ Bears- I don’t think the Bears are flukes. I also don’t think they win this game. These two teams split this season, with the Bears winning the more recent game. It was an exciting, back and forth game though, one that the Packers found every way to lose. This is a divisional game, and those are way harder to win two in a row. It also sounds like the Packers are a bit healthier this week, so I’m calling the upset.
• Bills (-1.5) @ Jaguars- This one is a hard game to predict. Jacksonville had one of the hottest finishes in football. They are a surprise to be here though, while the only surprise with Buffalo is that they’re on the road. I feel like Buffalo needs to get it done this year. On the other hand, Lawrence has played plenty of postseason games, and has wins too. I have the least feel for this one, but I’ll take Buffalo on here, I guess.
• 49’ers @ Eagles (-4.5)- I love my Eagles, but this is a genuine heavyweight fight. After the Eagles, the Niners and Rams are probably the best two NFC teams of the past five years. Here the Niners are again, albeit with a very different team, back in Philly for a playoff game. Purdy and Shanahan have been in plenty of games, they won’t be intimidated. With that said, the travel, the home field advantage, and health all favor the team that won the Super Bowl last year. For those reasons, the Eagles should win. I just wouldn’t sleep on it.
• Chargers @ Patriots (-3.5)- Are the Chargers of today just the Chargers of the Rivers days? They’re really good, they have a great coach/QB combo. They’re here consistently. But is it ever their time? This is a far travel, to play a team who had a little bit better season. So the Patriots should be the favorites, and they are. Is this the time for the Chargers though? Doesn’t seem like it.
• Texans (-3) @ Steelers- The Steelers are a lot better than people give them credit for. If they keep Tomlin and Rodgers for next season, and add more talent around them, the 10-7 division champs could truly contend. However, what they need to do is find their future QB for after next year. The Texans should give them time to do that. This defense is absolutely elite, and up to the task of a deep playoff run.